Historical Association #4

[Wayne23]

Historical Association #4

I can’t tell you how excited I am! Lem Barr here. At age 28 I was just named head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles, in the Mid-American Conference!

Let me tell you a little bit about me. I was born right here in Ypsilanti, and I’ve lived here all of my life. I went to school here ate Eastern Mich., graduating with a B. A. in Political Science. At that point the head coach of the Eagles, Jed Reed, offered me a position as a grad assistant, with the basketball program, so I pursued a Master’s in Sports Management. I got it in a year and Jed put me on his staff as the #3. I moved up to #2, and then #1 last year. Jed just retired, and I was offered the job. I couldn’t accept quickly enough!

Outside of basketball I’m interested in … well, family certainly. My wife, Lucy and I have been together, in one way or another since we were high school sophomores, and we got married as soon as I got the full time job as #3 here. We have a 2 year old, Thomas, and a 6 month old, Claire. I follow other sports, but there’s nothing like basketball. Like just about everybody, I have stocks. I mean it’s so easy. Put money in, watch it grow, and grow, and grow some more! There’s never been such prosperity!

Okay, that’s not a lot of information, but this is about basketball. I’ll tell you what’s going on around the country and around the world as we go along.

Let’s get started!

[Wayne23]

5/1: Lots to do. I decide to hang onto my assistants. They know the team, and we’ve worked together, so there’s no need to change. I promote #3 to #2, and #2 to #1, and hire a #3.

Looking at the roster.

6/25: I cut two players who are never going to help us, even in practice.

I got a terrific salary to go with the new job, but times are so good I would have expected that.

6/26: 4 scholarships. Hoping to get 2 guards, 2 big guys.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 Cs.

9/11: We feel we’re close to at least 2 recruits.

9/18: No commitments yet, but we’re encouraged.

We have a schedule. It’s horrible. All but one before conf. play are on the road.

9/25: Got 2, lost 2. Got a PG, #214, and a C, #430.

My stock broker informs me that my wife and I are now worth a bit more than half a million. Stocks just keep going up and up. The Republicans have made us all rich!

10/2: We get a C, #440. Lose a PG. We need a guard.

1st day of practice. We’re picked 9th in the 12 team conference. I hope to finish in the top ½, but we’ll see.

10/16: Still chasing that guard.

10/30: Well, yesterday everything fell apart. The largest “crash” is the history of the stock market made all of us wealthy speculators broke. It seems the wealth was based on nothing real.

I’m very lucky. I have a job. My family will eat. Many are far less fortunate.

We will very likely need to move out of our home and into faculty housing, but most of our meals can be taken on campus at the cafeteria. I know that my salary will take a serious slide downward, but I WILL be able to support my family.

11/6: Here’s the lineup. 9 man rotation, at least to start:

Senior Jon Parr is at PG, backed by frosh Mik Nels.

Senior Clay Wams is at SG, supported by junior Joe Wrig.

Junior Casy Edds is at SF, with junior Marq Crow subbing.

Soph Sam Arck starts at PF and subs at C, with junior Flip Raye subbing at PF.

Junior Bart Sten is at C.

There will be changes!

Things are terrible in this country and around the world. MANY people are committing suicide because they feel they have lost all hope. Again, at least my family will eat, and we will have a roof over our heads.

Coaching pays the bills, and it will be a great distraction from all of the misery in the world right now.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 1-1 start. Given that they were both road games I’ll take it. PF Sam Arck, C Bart Sten, and SG Clay Wams are all playing well.

All 3 recruits signed.

The Athletic Director called me in yesterday and told me my salary will now be 1/10th of what it was. I don’t care, and I didn’t argue. It’s about food, clothing, shelter, and keeping the apartment warm enough in winter. We’ll be able to do all of that.

My Lucy is frugal, and she’s a good cook. The meals we eat at home, Friday evening and all weekend, when the college cafeteria is closed, will be soups and stews, nothing fancy, but that’s fine. We can pick apples and make pies and things like that. I am grateful for what we have, at least compared to most folks. I am heartbroken to see that some are already without food.

12/4: 4-2. We’re doing better than I had expected! PF/C Sam Arck is really playing well, leading us in both scoring and RBs. Bart Sten is scoring, but he needs to step up his rebounding. Clay Wams is our best outside scorer. All in all, I’m happy with the way we’re playing.

We finally played our first home game, and won it! We don’t play another one until conference play begins on 12/29.

I’m learning as we go. The number of things a head coach has to take care of is pretty mind boggling, but I’m getting there.

The economic disaster continues to worsen, and it is pretty much worldwide. We are somewhat isolated here on campus, but enrollment is bound to drop, even with the lowered costs that are already being announced. That will be true for most colleges, if not all.

I cannot use the word “grateful” too often.

12/25: Heading for conf. play we are 6-5. -1.2 PPG, +0.5 RBs, +2.1 TOs. Sam Arck continues to lead us in scoring and RBs. Joe Wrig is now starting at the Point. Par is simply not getting it done. On paper he’s our best player, but it’s not happening.

The horrors of the economic depression continue.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1930: We win our conf. opener at home vs. middle of the pack Central Michigan.

A new year. President Hoover may be the most unpopular politician in the world. He deserves it! He is doing nothing. He believes that the markets must correct themselves. Meanwhile people are starving and sleeping in the streets because they have lost their homes. And he does nothing to help them.

There are charities that run soup kitchens, but many serve only one or two meals a day.

Winter is here and people are literally freezing to death when they fall asleep in the streets.

Our apartment is not warm, but it is warm enough to keep us all safe. We heat with coal and wood, mostly wood, because I can chop it in my spare time, and that makes it free.

1/15: 9-7, 3-2, RPI #58. Tied for 2nd in the West Div. of our conf.

1/29: 11-9, 5-4. RPI #53. In a 2 way tie for 2nd in the West, tied for 4th overall in our 12 team conf. +1.0 PPG, +3.0 RBs, +0.8 TOs.

We’re still tweaking the lineup. Parr is back to starting at PG, and Sten is now our leading rebounder so he’s playing more C and Arck is playing more PF. As

I learn how to coach I learn that these kinds of adjustments continue throughout the season, and even happen regularly in a given game. Our overall D could be better, as could our ball handling.

2/12: 13-11, 7-6. Lost one we should have won, won one we should have lost last week.

Bitter cold spell throughout the Midwest. People without homes are freezing to death by the thousands.

2/18: Someone named Clyde Tambaugh has discovered a new planet out past Neptune. He’s calling it “Pluto.” So now there are 9 planets in our solar system, not 8.

Lucy is expecting. That’s probably not good news, given the economic situation, but we’re happy about it anyway.

2/19: There’s an annoying thing called a “Bracket Breaker.” It’s a series of games featuring lots of good but not great teams. We play New Mexico today.

It’s a game I don’t want against a team we probably can’t beat.

2/26: We lost the Bracket Breaker, as expected. We end the regular season at 14-14, 8-8, tied for 5th overall in the conf. So we met one goal. The other is to finish above .500. We’d need 2 tournament wins to do that. Doubtful. But then, we should go somewhere post season, so it’s possible if we win one in the conf. tourney.

RPI #82. -0.2 PPG, +1.8 RBs, +0.9 TOs. Sam Arck leads us in both points and RBs, but Sten is close in both. Wams is our #3 scorer with 13.7.

Nothing new on the economic front.

The meals here at Eastern MI are getting simpler and simpler- oatmeal for breakfast. We do usually get eggs and either ham, bacon, or sausage as well.

That’s due to the fact that our School of Agriculture can’t sell those things. When they are able to, we get just the oatmeal. No complaints!

Lunch is soup and bread. Again, at this time of year there are lots of root vegetables in the soup, and no meat. The bread is made from wheat that the School of Ag grows.

Dinner is usually some kind of stew- again, bread, lots of root veggies like potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and the like. There is sometimes meat, which could be ham, pork, beef, or chicken. But when they can sell the meat it’s just a veggie stew. It’s healthy, nutritious, and tasty, and seconds are available. No complaints whatever. There is usually some sort of dessert featuring apples. We grow LOTS of those around here.

Again, when the cafeteria is closed Lucy makes the same kinds of things. She spices them differently than the school does, and is an imaginative cook. We are so very lucky!

President Hoover continues to do nothing as thousands starve and/or freeze to death.

On to the post season!

[Wayne23]

3/5: We play last place Buffalo, 7-20, 2-14. They won by 15 there so we need to play.

3/6: 81-70. It was too close for too long. 20, 7 for Sten, 13, 10 for Arck, 15, 6, 4 for Parr, 12, 3, 3 for Edds, 8, 2, 9 for Wams. +8 RBs, 14 TOs (even).

Next up is #2 seed Bowling Green, 20-8, 12-4. We won by 5 there, but this is a tough team, and this will be a tough game.

3/7: 73-80. We stayed close until the final 2 minutes. 20, 5, 5 for Wams, 14, 5 for Sten, 11, 4, 3 for Parr. 19 TOs did us in, especially back to back TOs late.

I expect to be invited somewhere. We’re 15-15, 8-8, RPI #75. We’ll see.

3/12: We’re in the NIT, the #7 West. We play #2 seed James Madison, 21-9. They’re better outside than inside.

3/14: 52-69. Disappointing. 23, 9 for Arck, but no one else did a thing. They went to the line 33 times, we went 19, and we made 6 of 19! We were sloppy, and deserved most of the foul calls.

3.2 million unemployed, and the number rises every day. Hoover says it will be better within 60 days. How? He’s not doing anything.

4/1: The census says 123 million people now live in the U. S. These days most of them live in misery.

4/3: #8 Iowa won it all.

4/4: Awards: Sam Arck made all conf. 1st team. Clay Wams and Bart Sten made 2nd. Arck and Sten are back!

I haven’t mentioned it but my dream is to coach at Michigan ST someday. I’m a LONG way from having a chance to make it happen, but who knows?

4/9: Our TP fell from 23 to 20. Not good.

I’m shocked by the number of phone calls I received regarding head coaching jobs. I need to do better here before I consider moving.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. No.

15-16, 8-8. It was a less than successful season but I learned so very much, and I really enjoyed the experience. Hopefully we’ll do better in the season
ahead. Hopefully the economy will, too, but I don’t see how, with our do nothing President.

We’re losing both of our starting guards, but no one else, and we have 3 guards and 2 inside players coming in.

[Wayne23]

5/1: National basic.

6/5: Looking at some transfers.

We offer to 2.

6/12: We get a C.

6/26: 7 scholarships. Yikes! That’s a lot!

8/21: We offer to (1 or at most 2 guards) 2 PGs, 3 PFs, and 2 Cs.

9/18: Weak schedule. We want wins, in order to build the program and attract recruits.

9/25: We get a C, #276, and lose 2 PFs.

10/2: We get 2 PFs, #228 and #346, lose a C and a PG.

1st day of practice. I think we may be a little better than last year.

10/9: We get a PG, #110, lose 2. 3 more recruits to land.

11/6: 9 man rotation:

2 frosh start at guard- Dean Kirk at Pg, subbing at SG, and Cris Hill, starting st SG, subbing at PG. Senior Joe Wrig and soph Mik Nels sub at SG.

The other 3 starters are all back from last season:

Senior Casy Edds starts at SF, subs at PF. Seniors Flip Raye and Marq Crow sub at SF. Crow would play more but he’s a defensive liability.

Inside it’s junior Sam Arck at PF, subbing at C, and senior Bart Sten at C.

Here we go!

The economy worsens steadily. No idea how many million are now unemployed, how many families are now without homes.

A man by the name of Clarence Birdseye has found a way to freeze foods so that they can last a very long time without spoiling.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 1-1 to start. Guard Cris Hill is looking VERY good, as are Sten and Arck.

All 4 recruits sign but we need 3 more!

12/4: 3-3. Hill is our leading scorer with 21.3. Edds, Arck, and Sten are all playing well.

Hoover asks for a $150 million dollar public works project to provide jobs. About time!

12/25: We go to Conf. play at 6-5, RPI #127. +2.0 PPG, +3.7 RBs, +1.3 TOs. Cris Hill is our scorer- 19.9. Edds, Arck, and Sten get it done inside. Joe Wrig, as he did last season, has taken the starting PG spot. Our problem is depth- we don’t have any.

1930 comes to an end. It was a fascinating year in Major league baseball, a real hitter’s year. Hack Wilson, of the Chicago Cubs, had 56 home runs, the most ever by a man not named Babe Ruth, and 191 RBIs, the all time record.

The economy continues to get worse and worse. It is affecting just about everyone. I am now getting faculty housing, 14 meals per week for my family and me, and $20 a week salary. That’s way better than most people, and $20 goes a LONG way. We actually save about $5 a week- not that we put it in banks, given how they are all going bust. We aren’t putting it in stocks either, although we may at some point. There are lots of bargains. But it’s still too risky.

What ARE we doing with what we save? I’m not telling.

Lucy says I’m too generous, but when I go into town and a bum asks for a dime, I give it to him. Lots of these “bums” are people I’ve known all of my life.

Believe me, they would take any job at any pay, but there are no jobs.

Hoover keeps saying, “Prosperity is right around the corner,” but that corner doesn’t come, and he’s not doing much to make it come. We’re stuck with him for a couple more years, unfortunately. No idea who the Democrats will run, but whoever he is, he’s got my vote!

[Wayne23]

1/1/1931: We beat Western MI there to start Conf. play. Given that they’re picked to finish 3rd, I call that a good start!

It’s winter again, and people are freezing to death, here in Michigan and everywhere else where it gets really cold. And the government does nothing.

1/15: 10-6, 4-1, RPI #110. Cris Hill is a pure shooter, and our front line is very strong. Our 6th man, SF/PF Flip Raye, is having a great season.

1/29: 13-7, 7-2, RPI #71. +3.9 PPG, +4.1 RBs, +1.3 TOs. We’re #1 overall in conf., 2 game lead in the Division.

2/12: 16-8, 10-3, RPI #52. Lost a road game we should have won but we’re still 2 up on 3 teams, and 3 or more on the rest.

Cris Hill is the Mid-American’s leading scorer (by 2.5 PPG), and Bart Sten is 4th. Sten is #1 in RBs, Arck is #4, Edds is #5.

2/26: We end the regular season 19-9, 12-4, RPI #39, 1st overall in conf. +4.5 PPG, +5.1 RBs, +0.6 TOs. Hill, Sten, and Arck continue to lead us, with Edds also playing well. Wrig, Kirk, and Raye, the other three who get minutes, also play well. We could be deeper, but as long as we stay healthy we hope and expect to do well in the post season.

No one is talking about national unemployment numbers. The people deserve to know. We also deserve to know how many have frozen to death.

Everyone I talk to wants Hoover out of office but it's nearly 2 years until the next Presidential election. And still, he does nothing, or just about nothing.

[Wayne23]

3/3: “The Star Spangled Banner” is now officially the national Anthem. Terrible choice. Either “America the Beautiful” or “America” would have been better. This is a boring song about a war we lost. And it’s impossible to sing. Besides, people are starving and freezing. Why is Congress wasting time on this!

3/6: We play Ohio, 19-11, 9-7, in the quarter finals. We beat them by 11 at our place. The format is to play the winner of the 4-5 game in the other Division.

3/7: 78-58. 21, 9 for Arck, 17, 5, 4, 4 for Sten, 14 for Hill, but he fouled out in 20 minutes. Not his best game. 9, 12, 3 for Edds. +13 RBs.

We play last place Kent ST, 12-19, 4-12, in the semis. After finishing dead last in conf. they have managed 2 straight upsets. Their best player flunked off the team at the end of the 1st semester, and they went downhill from there. We beat them by 2 in OT before their star was injured.

3/8: 74-66. They were tenacious. 19, 8 for Arck, 18, 3, 3 for Hill, 11, 7 for Sten, 9, 11, 5 for Edds. We finally won more on determination than anything else.

It’s #2 seed, 22-9, 11-5 Bowling Green for the title. They lost their PG to a torn ACL in January, but they’ve continued to win without him. We won by 7 there, but these guys are tough! Hill has not played well in this tournament. He fouled out of the 1st game and shot 6-17 in the 2nd. We need him to step up.

3/9: 91-84. 23, 8 for Arck, 20, 6, 5 for Hill, but he was only 6-15. This was the best game for our bench all season- 28, 16, 6, and that was big. It was tied with 4:11 to play. From then on I went with the hot hand, and that was Raye and Kirk on O. Each had 2 threes in that last stretch.

22-9, 12-4, regular season and tourney title. RPI #33. How high will we go, and where? 8 seed?

3/12: #9 West. We play #8 Arkansas, 19-10. Their best rebounder and 3rd best scorer is out with a broken toe. They have a solid backcourt but the injury has made them vulnerable up front. We need to exploit that.

3/17: 68-72. We never quit, but never quite got there. 25, 4 for Hil, 17, 7 for Sten, 8, 11 for Arck. +14 RBs, but wqe just didn’t make shots when we needed to (35.3%).

Still, a great season. We will dearly miss graduating seniors Sten, Edds, Wrig, and Raye. Marq Crow didn’t play much, but he graduates as well. We need to get 2 more recruits to commit.

The state of Nevada has legalized gambling. People reputed to be organized crime figures are already breaking ground to build casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and other places. I’m not sure I think this is a good thing.

4/3: My dream team, #2 Michigan ST, won it all.

4/4: Awards: Cris Hill was Conf. POY and 1st team, along with seniors Casy Edds and Bart Sten. Sam Arck made 2nd team.

4/9: Some very interesting phone calls regarding head coaching jobs. I’m staying here.

BIG argument with my A.D. He told me he was taking away my home phone. I do a lot of business related phoning from home- recruiting calls mostly. I spend enough dang time at the office. I don’t need to trudge back there to call recruits once I’ve FINALLY managed to get home to my family. After a long, heated argument, that involved some shouting, he said he’d rethink it.

I know money’s tight. I get that, but if I can’t do my job, how does EMU gain?

4/23: Hoping for that budget increase we didn’t get last season. We definitely had a better season! I know money’s tight, but more recruiting dollars would be a big help. We get $8,300. I’ll take it!

22-10, 12-4, won the regular season and tourney titles. Great season! We have a LOT of new faces coming in.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the Midwest Gold.

The Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world, is completed, and open.

6/5: We have 2 spots. We make 2 offers.

6/12: We get an SF who looks good.

6/26: 2 scholarships. We want 2 inside players. We redshirt a guard.

8/21: We offer to a PF and a C.

9/18: The schedule is a little stronger.

9/25: We get the C, #317, lose the PF.

10/2: We get the PF, #150.

1st day of practice. I think this is going to be a really good team.

10/11: A brand new comic strip, “Dick Tracy,” started last week. Tracy is a cop. It is surprisingly good!

11/6: Here’s the lineup, 7 man rotation:

Juco junior Wes Smey is at PG. He may be our best player.

Soph Cris Hill is back at SG. Another juco junior, Marc Lang, backs up at SG.

Soph Dean Kirk backs up at PG and SF, and could wind up starting at SF.

Frosh Milt Chip starts at SF, backs up at both PF and C.

A third juco junior Ron Lenz, starts at PF.

Sam Arck, our only senior, starts at C.

We’re picked 3rd in conf., and I think we’ll do at least that well.

The economic situation continues to be a disaster. Some folks say 10 million are unemployed.